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Abstract
The notes offered to the reader are based on the examination of a limited number of Arab-Berber
sources and their main objective is to highlight the fact that the Muslim West (Maghreb - al-
Andalus) constituted a multilingual geographical space. First, we will look at the question of the
Almoravids and the mastery of languages in a context of power. Then, we will go on an excursion
to al-Andalus in order to raise the question of the linguistic skill of the sovereigns. After this, we
give some details on Berber language in the Marinid Maghreb. Finally, the time will have come
to propose some brief conclusions of a provisional nature but which will make it possible to
emphasize once again the interest of the study of linguistic uses and cultural contacts in the
Muslim West in the Middle Ages.
The Berber language in the Muslim West during the Almoravid and Merinid
periods: some historical-philological notes
1
Voir par exemple les travaux récents de Brugnatelli, Arab-Berber Contacts in the Middle Ages, pp. 271-
276 ; De Felipe, Medieval Linguistic Contacts, pp. 19-25 ; Meouak, Brief notes on the concepts of lisān and
lugha, pp. 266-268 ; Brugnatelli, Typology of Eastern Medieval Berber, pp. 127-132 ; Meouak, Place-
names and personal names in Medieval Maghreb, pp. 142-144.